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A Hudson Valley teacher is apologizing for a statement he made on Facebook addressing the recent controversies surrounding comments by talk show host Samantha Bee and comedian Roseanne Barr.

In a post that has since been deleted, Suffern Middle School music teacher Aaron Minsky posted last weekend that while women can be called vulgar names, blacks cannot be referred to as animals.

Suffern Central's Deputy Superintendent Stephen Walker said the district was made aware of the post on Tuesday, and that although the post was made outside of his work day, the district has spoken to Minsky about the incident.

"While we are not at liberty to discuss personnel issues, the matter has been and will continue to be addressed, and while it in no way diminishes the seriousness of the situation, the individual has taken down the post," Waker said. "The Suffern Central School District places an extremely high premium on tolerance, diversity, and inclusion and we teach these core values to students in each of our schools."

"The entire School District community remains fully committed to our values and this very unacceptable incident will not deter our educators from the important work they do each day for each and every one of our students."

Minsky, who has been employed by the district since 2008, posted a new statement on
Facebook
addressing the issue:

"This weekend I made a post that unfortunately offended some members of our community," Minsky wrote. "The point of my post was to expose and decry how increasingly lower standards of speech have become accepted in the media."

He added that he was reacting to the treatment of Samantha Bee who was applauded in some quarters for using an extremely offensive slur against another woman with whom she disagreed politically. In the same week Roseanne was soundly, and rightfully, criticized for her extremely offensive comment about an African American woman.

He went on to say that he was attempting to show that both were unacceptable: "When it became clear to me that my words were being misinterpreted I deleted the post," he added.

"I am not posting this in order to further the discussion but to state as clearly and honestly as I can what is in my heart and ask for your understanding and forgiveness."

In addition to teaching, Minsky is also a published composer and musician, according to his website,
aaronminsky.com
.